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May 31, 2012

I can’t remember if we have children’s books when we’re young except for the Bible stories books. My mom used to read me stories every night and this is one thing I missed when she left. Now that I have a son, I always buy books for him though I admit that we don’t read books every day. But I’m trying my best to read at least one book a day.

I don’t have Ebook for kids yet but fortunately I got two sample of Brainy Connections Ebook, Codley and the Sea Cave Adventure and Lexi Flairheart and the Forbidden door.

Codley and the Sea Cave Adventure;Codley is an adventurous octopus who loves to explore the ocean and meet new friends. Codley has a friend named Pokie the Puffer Fish.

Codley and Pokie decided to explore a mysterious cave where they met a new friend and experienced dangerous and strong current.

I love this book because it talks about friendship. My son who loves fish and other sea creatures will definitely enjoy this.

Lexi Flairheart and the Forbidden Door;Lexi is a five year old kid who loves to bring backpack wherever she goes. She is like the other kids who are curious and want to learn new things. She hates closed doors and she always wants to see what’s on the other side. She even opened the forbidden door and discovered new things.

This book is good for those kids who are curious and innovative.

About the Author

Lisl Fair has a Masters Degree in Speech-Language Therapy and Audiology. She left private practice to spend more time with her four children and took up a career in writing from home.

She is the author of numerous magazine articles dealing with a variety of parenting subjects and is involved in the development of educational children books.

She is involved in Brain-Based Learning and Development and helps parents and children discover how they are unique on a part-time basis.

May 30, 2012

We all know that it so easy to buy roast chicken because you can find roast chicken store everywhere but nothing beats homemade roast chicken. Roast chicken is one easy recipe that you can do at home and I always do this during my lazy moments because all I need to do is preheat the oven, season the chicken put it in the oven and leave it there for more or less 1 hour.

I only use salt, pepper, lemon juice or calamansi juice and garlic (I put this inside the chicken). Then I put some soy sauce (color) and olive oil before I put it inside the oven. Sometimes I put herbs like thyme and rosemary.

May 28, 2012

The moment I saw the two lines in my pregnancy test I was so happy and I could not explain the feeling, all I know is I will be a mother soon but it was not a successful pregnancy. But God is so good and He gave me another chance and now I have a son. I always say that my son completes me because I know that without him I won’t be a mother.

“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born, she never existed before. The woman existed but the mother never. A mother is something absolutely new“ – Rajneesh

No one says that motherhood is a sweet journey and you never know how hard it is unless you become a mother. I hope there is Motherhood 101 lesson in school so I would be prepared but there isn’t any lesson but every day is a chance for me to learn how to raise my son, how to be a good mother and how to enjoy being a full time mom.

Being a mother is not easy because there are always challenges, trials and mistakes along the way. There are times that I feel that I’m not doing the right thing and I’m such a failure mom but I know that it is all part of life. Despite all of these hardships and challenges, I can definitely say that I’m grateful because God gave me the opportunity to become a mom and I will not trade this for anything because there are a lot of sweet moments, happy memories and joys of motherhood.

My unexpected joys of motherhood

1. I’m happy that I chose to be a stay at home mom because I have more time with my son and I can capture those first time moments. Witnessing his first smile, crawl, steps, etc. are priceless memories.

2. I enjoy taking photos of his developments, milestones and crazy moments.

3. The first time my son called me “mommy”.

4. Hugs and kisses from my son is enough to melt my heart even when I’m mad.

5. I have a companion when my husband is not around.

6. I know I will have separation anxiety if my son wants to have his own bedroom.

7. Our everyday activity and bonding.

8. I find blogging inspiration from him.

Motherhood is a lifetime journey and process. I learn and discover some things that I did not know that I have. I never thought that I could love someone unconditionally. Honestly, I’m not fond of kids’ maybe that is why I don’t want to be a teacher because I have very little patience but when I had my son, everything change. He changed me.

May 25, 2012

I got this recipe from Yummy Magazine and I did not like the result because I find it too dry and I can’t taste the butter. After three years, I tried this recipe again but this time I add ½ cup of chocolate chips but still the same result. Hubby and son like it maybe because I add some chocolate chips.

Here is the recipe and procedure if you want to try.1.In a bowl, mix together ½ cup of softened butter and ½ cup sugar.2.Add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla.3.Blend in 1 cup flour and 1 tsp of baking powder.4.Spoon the mixture into paper-lined muffin cups5.Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until sides of cupcakes are lightly browned.

May 24, 2012

When I was young, I never thought that preparing meals are stressful but now that I’m a mom, I realized that thinking what to cook every day is a challenge so I always have weekly menu but still I’m having a hard time thinking what to cook for the whole week.

Every day I only cook one meal because there are only three people in the house so how much more if you have big family, you have to cook meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Whew! We only eat light breakfast, our usual breakfast are sandwiches, cereals and oatmeal but for weekend, we eat rice meals so I have to cook the usual breakfast meal like hotdog, bacon, omelette, spam, or any dish with SI-LOG (SInangag (fried rice) itLOG (egg). For snacks, it varies, sometimes I bake cupcake, cook pasta or sweet treats like banana-q which is good for 2 to 3 days.

Writing weekly menu may be hard but you can also save on this because you will only buy what you need for the whole week so no wasted ingredients and because of this I defrost our fridge every week, day before our market day.

I usually use scratch pad to write my weekly menu but now I’m going to use this, I hope this will inspire me to write our menu. I bought this 2 years ago at Baby Couture (P50) and this is the only time I’m gonna use it. Hehe!

May 23, 2012

My son was not feeling well last Saturday so we gave him Paracetamol and fever was gone so we had a quick visit to my grandmother’s house last Sunday. But last Monday (afternoon), my son had fever again so I gave him medicine and called my husband to inform him about my son’s condition. He told me to monitor the temperature which I did; I gave him medicine again after 5 hours. Temperature was still high, 102 degrees Fahrenheit so we decided to go to the nearest hospital after dinner.

But when they checked my son’s temperature, it was only 37.4 degrees Celsius so it seems that there’s no more fever. My son is always active but last Monday, he was not hyper so as far as we know, my son is still unwell. We requested for urinalysis and CBC just to make sure that my son has no UTI or dengue.

Yes, I’m a paranoid mom but I want peace of mind. When my son was 3 months old, he had an on and off fever and doctor told me that it was just a viral infection. I trusted her but after few days, my son had fever again and we immediately went to E.R. and to our surprised my son has UTI so we stayed in the hospital for almost a week.

After one hour, laboratory test result was normal, so no UTI and dengue, doctor told me that he won’t prescribed any antibiotic, just give my son Paracetamol if the temperature is greater than or equal to 37.8 degrees Celsius. Again, it was just a viral infection. We went home at 11PM.

I monitor my son yesterday, he just rest, rest and rest. He always wants to be carried and now he’s ok. I need to schedule our flu vaccine as soon as possible; we missed the flu vaccine (c/o hubby’s company) last May 12 because hubby was still in Shanghai.

May 21, 2012

We had a quick mall trip last Saturday to finish some errands and we saw this new restaurant at SM Sta Rosa. Hainanese Delights serves barbeque and hainanese chicken rice, we’re having second thought in trying this new restaurant because it was 12nn and we can’t see any customers but we still give it a try.

They immediately gave us the menu and while checking the menu, one staff came and gave us some plain soup and glass water. We ordered hainanese chicken delightP120 and pork chop P120. After few minutes, the staff came back and gave me my receipt, I asked if I need to pay immediately and she said yes. I gave her the money and she went back again for my change.

After few minutes, customers started to pour in and staff gave them menu, plain soup and glass of water. But one thing I noticed, the staff did not get their order, the customers went to the counter, they ordered and paid their bill. Nahiya ko bigla, feeling ko paspecial ako, but kudos to the staff for extra effort. She could inform me that I have to go to the counter but she still get my order and went back twice to our table.

Fast forward to our order, we did not have any regret and it is indeed “a delightful experience in every bite.” (I read this line in their restaurant). P120 is worth it (rice all you can), rice pa lang masarap na. #panira ng diet

Hubby: 1 cup + 6 scoops of rice

Me: 1 cup + 2 scoops of rice

If my son has no tantrums, we will order and eat more. Price is really affordable.

My husband has been paying our monthly amortization at Pag-ibig office (Shaw) for the last several months and finally he asked if there’s another way to pay our monthly dues and Pag-ibig staff informed him where we could pay our dues.

We could pay our monthly amortization at SM Payment Center; we just need to print the monthly billing statement from their site. Here are the step by step guide on “How to print housing loan billing statement (HLMBS) through Pag-ibig Fund Website”

Note: The housing loan monthly billing statement is available for viewing or verification a week before the due date.

We receive monthly text from Pag-ibig regarding our due so even without the statement, we can pay in SM Payment Center.

Where to pay your housing loan/installment/amortization:

1. Over the Counter (OTC) Payments at the HDMF Branches- Any HDMF Branch, if payment is made on or before the due date specified in the “due date” portion of the Housing Loan Monthly Billing Statement. You may visit www.pagibigfund.gov.ph for the list of HDMF branches.- Only at the HDMF Branch maintaining the acoount, if payment is made after the specified due date in the “due date” portion of the Housing Loan Monthly Billing Statement.

2. Accredited Collecting Agents (Developers with Collection Servicing Agreement with HDMF, SM Business Service Centers and Landbank of the Philippines [All branches]).- Only if payment is made on or before the due date specified in the "due date" portion of the House Loan Monthly Billing Statement. You may visit www.pagibigfund.gov.ph for the list of Accredited Collecting Banks/Agents for local and overseas.

Update:

I paid our amortization last Sunday March 24, 2013 and SM is now charging additional P5 for Pag-ibig Service Fee.My husband paid our amortization last November 20, 2016 and the staff informed him that we need to pay the exact amount. Hindi na daw pwede yung sobra. So sayang na naman ang centavos na hindi maisusukli for sure ng cashier.

May 18, 2012

I’ve never been in Shanghai but if ever I will have a chance, I will surely visit Shanghai Akasantei. It is teppanyaki and yakinuku restaurant that my husband never failed to visit every time he’s in Shanghai. It is located in Pearl City and 10 minutes away from Renaissance Shanghai Yangtze Hotel.

Shanghai Akasantei produces Japan style teppanyaki in elegant dining room. They offer various wonderful dishes world travel. They serve unique dips and each dip has distinctive flavor that would give you good appetite.

menu

It is an eat all you can restaurant for RMB298 (P1,800+), just choose from their menu and staff will gladly cook it for you. Hubby told me that there are prices on the menu so one of their tradition is to compute all the food that they have ordered and the price that they have to beat is RMB4800 (P28,000+). But of course they will only pay RMB298 per pax.

So I wasn’t surprised if my husband gained weight after his business trip.

Summer is not yet over because we can still feel the scorching heat of the sun though there are times that we experienced occasional rain showers, it is still hot. My family summer essential is aircon; it seems that we can’t live without this appliance.

When we move to our house, we can’t really sleep comfortably because aircon wasn’t installed yet and we can no longer use the old aircon because it will not fit to our new room. My son had skin rashes because of the heat so we went to my doctor to have it check. When we reached the hospital, the rashes were lessening maybe because of the aircon of the car. So after check-up we immediately bought aircon and have it installed as soon as possible.

Aircon is very important to us and I don’t even know how we are going to survive the summer heat without the aircon. I’m very much thankful to the inventor of this appliance, whoever you are. Hehe! And because it is very significant in our lives, we make sure that we maintain this home appliance. Preventive maintenance is a must at least once a year but my husband is in-charge for that. Sometimes if our aircon needs a minor repair, he will not call any repairman like Hvac Austin and Cedar Park AC Repair, so it is really a big savings on our part. But if he can’t fix it, we will just call our neighbors to fix it.

The only disadvantage of this appliance is, it always makes me nervous every time I receive our electric bill.

May 17, 2012

I know that I posted this quote before; this is one of my favorite quotes because I can totally relate. I’ve said it numerous times that it was not my dream to be a full time mom but now I’m a stay at home mom for four years already. So I believe that no matter how I plan my life, there are things that I cannot control, so I just let go and let God to be my guide.

Well, I’m not alone because most of my friends also change their career, we all took BS Commerce but one of my friends is now an engineer and another friend is now a chef. Not all ended up with business position.

The same thing happen with my husband, he used to work in semi-conductor manufacturing company. He used to handle, evaluate and improve equipment utilization as an Equipment Engineer. Most equipment in their company mostly uses compressed air to perform their functions. This compressed air must be free of compressor oil; this can be done by using air compressor filter to make sure that the output product from this equipment is free from oil contamination. So there are times that he needs to work overtime but he only works inside the plant.

But now he works in manufacturer of telecommunication products and the job is very different from his previous job. He now evaluates and develops products and he also trains technicians and end-users. Most of the time he is out of the office, he is in out of town trip or he is out of the country. But whenever I asked him “which job he loves, the previous one or the present one”? He said, he loves both.

May 16, 2012

As I mentioned on my previous post, hubby just came back from Shanghai last Saturday so I know that we will not have any Mother’s Day celebration. Well, the truth is, it is not a big deal to me, I can’t even remember if we really celebrate this occasion, as far as I know year 2009 was the first and last time that we celebrate Mother's day. A simple greeting from my family is enough and if I could have a rest day on this day. hahaha!

Surprisingly, last Sunday hubby was suggesting if we could have an overnight stay in Tagaytay because he wanted to sleep, sleep and sleep. #jetlag. I asked him what’s his budget and he said P500. Oh my P500 for an overnight stay in Tagaytay, I told him I rather stay at home than stress myself looking for cheap accommodation. Today is my day!

But hubby was determined to pursue our overnight stay so after lunch, I checked Pina Colina and Hotel Kimberly site but there was no promo. Then I checked Taal Vista Hotel, they have an on-going promo. The promo price is almost the same with Hotel Kimberly regular price but since we haven’t tried Taal Vista Hotel, we chose the latter. P4,075 for a superior room but unfortunately no more rooms available so we have no choice but to get the De Luxe room for P5,075 less discount (SMAC or BDO Rewards) = P4,775.

After 50 minutes, off we went to Tagaytay (1:50PM). We reached Taal Vista Hotel at 2:50PM so one hour travel time from our place.

For me, Taal Vista Hotel has the best view of Taal Volcano but unfortunately, we can’t see it from our room, all we can see are building walls.

one and only family picture

welcome drinks: up to 4 pax (2 adults and 2 kids)

run, run, run

The most exciting part of the staycation is complimentary buffet breakfast; I think this is open for walk-in visitors for P678.

After breakfast, we went to the swimming pool and we spent the rest of our time here.

Likes1. They really have the best view of Taal Volcano2. Facilities and amenities are good.3. I love soft pillows, our room has 4 pillows. Bed is comfortable.4. Welcome drink is good up to four persons unlike in other hotels.

Dislikes1. Since this is not a cheap hotel, I was expecting more for the service. During my overnight stay, I did not hear any “welcome to Taal Vista Hotel, good afternoon, good morning and good evening”. The staffs are just ok. I’ve stayed in pension house, guesthouse, hotels and other luxury resort but this was the first time that I did not hear any greetings from hotel staff. I don’t know if it is just an isolated case, I don’t expect them to greet me whenever we bump each other but a smile and nod will do to make the guests feel welcome.2. No bath tub 3. It was Mother’s day and wala man lang freebies or greetings for mothers.4. No Wi-Fi So before we left the hotel, I filled out the survey form and gave it to the receptionist. I was not expecting for good service anymore but Raffy gladly assisted us during our check-out and he was really smiling. He even asked if we already have a car pass and if not he need to sign our parking ticket. I just hope they have more staff like Raffy. I received a call from Taal Vista Hotel because he read my comment in survey form and he asked if we had a bad experience in their Hotel. I told them that it was not really a bad experience but I hope they improve their service. He asked if I will still visit Taal Vista Hotel, I said yes. If they will have a good promo, I will try this hotel again but if I will pay P4,775, I will just book cheap airline tickets.Update: I received a call and apology letter yesterday (May 22, 2012) and they informed me that they have launched a new smile campaign program to correct the error. I tried to reply to their email but I'm receiving a Mailer-Daemon Notice. Anyway, It is good to know that they are seriously taking into consideration the guest feedback or comments. Note: If you are reserving for a room don’t forget to give your SMAC or BDO rewards number so they can give you additional discounts (if there’s any) and upon payment, give your SMAC or BDO reward card so you can earn points for your stay.

McDonalds is just in front of this hotel and there’s a small stall beside PAGCOR where you can buy mami for P30.

Families will learn about the production of popular TV programmes and the inner-workings of TV studios. Children will love seeing sets from Tracey Beaker, reading the BBC news and presenting the weather.

Book your tour at BBC Newcastle in advance to avoid disappointment on the day. This is a working studio and places are limited.

May 15, 2012

Hubby just came back last Saturday from Shanghai business trip, this was not his first time trip, if I remember it right, this is the 4th time that he visited Shanghai but this is the first time that I’ll be sharing photos of his trip. My husband is not fond of taking pictures so even though his work entails a lot of out of town and out of the country trips, he has no souvenirs (except for the expo trip in Shanghai). I’m not surprised because even team buildings and Christmas party events he has no photos unless someone I knew posted pictures on Facebook.

He always brings a camera to document his business trip but all photos are business related. I always remind him to take some pictures so at least I have an idea of the place he visited. Whenever I asked him about his hotel, he will just tell me the same thing, check the internet. =( Well, he always stays in MarriottRenaissance Shanghai Yangtze Hotel, again no pictures inside the hotel so let me borrow some pictures from their site. =)

I’ll be sharing some limited pictures that he took during his seven days trip so you can also have a glimpse of Shanghai. Shanghai is known for its architectural buildings and some popular tourist destination such as Oriental Pearl TV Tower located in Pudong, The Bund, Yuyuan Garden and City God Temple.

May 13, 2012

If you’ve been following this blog for quite some time now, you know already that I have psoriasis and I had this since college, (4th-year college). It started on my scalp and I thought it was severe dandruff, so I used different dandruff shampoo but it wasn’t working. But when I went to the doctor, she confirmed that it was scalp psoriasis. Then she prescribed medicine and shampoo.

When I reached home, I immediately search the internet to know more about my condition and I was shocked when I learned that this skin condition has no cure yet but it can be controlled and prevented. I can’t remember the last time that my scalp was free from scalp psoriasis. My case will range from mild to severe scalp psoriasis.

Having scalp psoriasis is difficult because sometimes hairdressers or barbers will reject you because they thought that scalp psoriasis is contagious. I'm lucky that my aunt has a salon so I won’t experience this but now that I live in South Luzon, there are times that I need to go to a nearby salon and I’m always nervous because I don’t want to be rejected.So if I have mild scalp psoriasis and I need to go to the salon, I will ask my husband to remove my scalp psoriasis using oil, sort of hair spa. I used baby oil, virgin coconut oil or aromatic oil. I’m still in search for good oil for scalp psoriasis and I’ve read that Moroccan oil is good for psoriasis but I don’t know if this argan oil is available in the Philippines.

Right now, I’m using Xamiol for my scalp psoriasis but it leaves my hair so sticky, I was really having a hard time removing the gel from my hair so sometimes I will use this and sometimes I won’t. And because of that, I don’t know if the medicine is effective. Last Saturday, I had my check-up again and I asked my doctor if she could prescribe new medicine because I don’t like Xamiol. Even I wash my hair twice or thrice, my hair is still sticky. She told me to apply my shampoo directly to my dry hair then wash. Then she gave me this flyer for illustration, good thing that she has a copy. I was hesitant at first but it really works. So this is the secret of how to use Xamiol. Well, I just hope that they include this in every box of Xamiol because not all patients know the secret.

May 11, 2012

Growing up without my parents beside taught me to become independent. I always do things on my own and as much as possible I don’t ask any favor. I don’t want to disturb or bother someone for my own problems. So people who are close to me think that I’m very tough.

But things change when I got married, all of a sudden I realized that I’m not that strong and I need someone to help me and to take care of me. Now, I’m so dependent with my husband so even life is difficult, I don’t like him to work abroad because I know that I can’t take a long distance relationship.

Though I know that we can have a better life if he will work abroad but we never dream to be super rich, all we wanted is a simple life where we can afford our needs and some wants. But even he is not working abroad; his job entails a lot of out of town and out of the country trips. So whenever his away, I’m always scared and paranoid, what if something happens and he’s not beside us.

I’m always paranoid because there are instances that I need to go to doctor for my son’s check-up, my son was sick but we have no choice but to commute because my hubby was in business trips. Two years ago, we experienced a signal #3 typhoon; I couldn’t sleep because I was really scared. We have no electric supply and water supply for almost 48 hours. I don’t even have an internet connection for two days because the antenna was been hit. I was saving my cellphone battery so I can still text or call my husband who was in Shanghai that time.

During those times, I always say, why now when my husband wasn’t home? But that's life! Another thing that scares me is when I need to fix something at home. I have no idea about tools such as self-drilling screws,bolt,grinding wheels, locksmiths and many more. But I know some tools like screwdriver, hammer, electric drill etc. So whenever he’s away I always pray and hope that no more bad experiences.

I always take one day at a time but time is really slow whenever he’s not here. How I wish I can fast forward the time so he will be home soon. Six days of waiting plus one more day and he will be home again.

My son gave me an advance gift for Mother’s day; this is the second mother’s day card that I received from him. Though last year was much better, #choosy, you can click here to view my first mother’s day card. But I appreciate his effort for coloring this card because I know he doesn’t like to color na. I always say that my son loves to color but now I don’t know what is happening. I always notice this on his teacher remarks.

First few days: “Wonderful”

Next Few Days: “”Nice”

Then: “Checked”

After few days, I saw a note “Ethan, next time please color the picture nicely”. Oh my, I don’t know what is happening, so after class, I will trace the activity so he can color it again and ok naman result. I always remind him to color the picture nicely and don’t go beyond the line. The following day, teacher’s remark is “Keep up the good work”

So feeling ko ok na, then this is the result of my Mother’s Day card, black heart and red bear but since I’m his mother, I love this card. He gave me this card with a smile. =)

Some kids are born lucky, they get to have the best kinda mom and I'm the luckiest coz you are mine! Happy Mother's Day Mom!

May 10, 2012

Lottery is very popular in most part of the world including Philippines. A lot of people really take chance on this game and they even include lottery in their everyday budget. They also have their favorite or lucky number. These people are praying and hoping that they will be the next lucky winner.

With our present economy situation, we can’t really blame people if they gamble their money in lottery. They feel that this will be the best solution to have a good life. Why not? Lucky winner can win millions of peso and this means they can afford their needs and wants. They can buy house and lot, luxury condos in downtown Austin condos, brand new fancy car, latest gadgets and many more. They can travel around the Philippines and even around the world. If ever I won the lottery, I will spend part of the winnings in travelling.

Though I love joining giveaways and contest, lottery is not my thing. I haven’t tried this game and I have no plan yet because I’m afraid that my winnings will cause me more harm. (assuming I will win, hehe!) Don’t get me wrong. But here are the things that I don’t want to happen if ever I won the lottery.

1. Your family might take advantage of you – after winning the lottery, I’m absolutely sure that you will gain more relatives. They feel that your winnings are for the whole clan. They want you to rescue them from their debts or financial problems. They will borrow money from you because there is no interest. \

2. Your friends and colleagues might take advantage of you – of course not only family but friends too will like to get a share of your winnings whether it is a free meal, drinks, movie or even a weekend getaway.

3. You will become a target for bad people – A lot of people will come and offer you some investment opportunity, networking or insurance and convince you to buy from them.

About Me

A mom blogger who is passionate in sharing travel trips, food trips, DIY, craft and money matters. I hope my articles will help you in planning your trips, enhancing your kitchen skills or being a productive full-time mom.
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